I never got around to posting about last week's episode, which was quite good, and was regretting it for quite a bit of tonight's show, which did not seem as strong. But "Mad Men" sure knows how to end an episode. ...

He is 63 today. From vinyl to tape to CD to mp3, he has been in my head and lightened my heart. I used to sing "Tupelo Honey" as a lullaby for my sons. "Bright Side of the Road," "Days Like This," "It's All in the Game," "Crazy Love," "The Eternal Kansas City" and on and on and on ... He gets me through.

This morning I started another college class en route to becoming a teacher again, and I cannot begin to tell you how jazzed I am. There was something about sitting in a room with a bunch of literature-minded, whip-smart people, talking about Emily Dickinson, Ernest Hemingway and other writers. It's not that newspaper writing isn't stimulating enough. But this is a whole different set of muscles, another kind of thinking. I kept scribbling down names of books I hadn't read or didn't know, wanting to feed the appetite the class had whetted.

The word from Channel 5 is below. But, having just talked to a rep from the show, I should clarify: This is not going to be a segment for telecast in the program. This is part of a promotional tour for the show, and on a somewhat smaller scale than segments being made for TV. There will be the hoopla described in the release below.

I haven't watched much of the Democratic convention. I had work commitments a couple of nights, for one thing. But I wanted to see Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Not because of how I'm voting, but because this was history.

The last day or so has consisted of work interrupted for long drives. Was in Cleveland last night for a screening of "Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys," which included an in-person introduction by Perry himself. This morning saw me on the road again to Cleveland, this time to join a small group of reporters interviewing Perry. Which I found plenty interesting. Tonight, I return to Cleveland for another movie screening, this time of "The Express," the movie about football star Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. I hope it's good. I also hope to get back to some other blog topics soon. Next up on "Beverly Hills, 90210" Flashback: "One Man and a Baby," Jan. 24, 1991. Brandon gets involved with a young single mother.

Meet Satan's biggest tools. The first season of the hilarious comedy series "Reaper," which was declared "devilishly fun" by the San Francisco Chronicle, will be available on DVD this November. Reaper: Season One includes all 18 episodes from the freshman season and is loaded with special bonus materials including deleted scenes and commentary with cast and crew. Starring Bret Harrison (TV's "Grounded for Life") and Ray Wise (TV's "Twin Peaks"), who received a TCA Award nomination for Individual Achievement for his performance, "Reaper" follows the turbulent life of Sam (Harrison), a slacker whose world turns upside down on his 21st birthday when he learns that his parents sold his soul to the Devil (Wise). Forced to be Hell's bounty hunter, Sam, with the aid of his goofball friends, must track down evil-doers and send them back where they belong. "Reaper" originally aired during the 2007-2008 season on The CW, and season two is slated for a mid-season premiere. Pricing: DVD $39.98 (5-disc set)

Someone passed on to me a story about the Beloit College mindset list, which of course sent me to the list itself. It deals with things that would be part of the consciousness of the college Class of 2012, mainly people born in 1990. A few highlights, in case you don't want to go to the whole list:

Usually early on Monday mornings, I'm doing a little Web browsing, catching up on the stuff on DVR, checking reader mail and generally planning how I will face the week. Today, I tried to do all those things but kept thinking, "Hey, I have a class." Which I of course attended, and took copious notes, and never once thought about the need for pizza in our time. Toughest part of it: The 32 minutes it took to get out of the school parking deck.

As you may know, these are terrible times in the newspaper business. I am still employed by the Beacon Journal, and dedicated to my chosen profession and to this blog. But I have begun to think about what I will do when my run as an ink-stained wretch comes to an end. And I am ready to test the maxim from the great "Animal House."

Because of some personal adventures, I have not posted today. I hope to back in business this weekend, including with some new "Beverly Hills, 90210" discussion. Since the next episode involves the Brenda-Dylan romance, I can't stop yet.

Have also been pondering an issue that will matter mainly to people who remember vinyl records. (I still have mine.) That is, how did the rise of the single-sided DVD change the creative impulses in play with the two-sided record (and, for that matter, with the two-sided cassette)?

NBC made it official today that Courtney B. Vance will be part of the final season of "ER," playing the husband of the character played by his real-life wife, Angela Bassett. You may remember Vance from "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," among many other projects. The announcement is after the jump.

For those of you checking out my revisiting "Beverly Hills, 90210," I have set up a page -- see the rail on the right -- with all the recaps, in order of telecast. I'll add them there as I go along, so you don't have to scroll through the non-"90210" posts, or go back in search of, say, the third episode because of something I said about the sixth.

Since questions have been coming up, and I've been compiliing a list anyway, after the jump I am putting a chronology of the new TV season, or at least for September and October. It's as accurate as I can make it right now, but I will make changes if dates change. And if they're any shows you're wondering about that are not on the list, post a comment and I will try to update. I'm also going to put this in the pages section of the blog, with the network fall announcements.

Tonight, instead of "90210," it was "3-2," the final score in the Indians-Angels game, where the bride and I were in attendance. Lowly Indians beat the Angels, who have the best record in the bigs. Tribe pitcher Cliff Lee, above, wins his 17th and gives more reason to the Cy Young talk.

It's true, no matter how old it makes you feel. And Warner Home Video is putting out a commemorative, remastered DVD of the movie in September. The release is after the jump, along with a few comments about the Olympics and John McEnroe.

"We're supposed to be getting married, and you're still here writing a 'Gossip Girl' review?"

At the office today, we were discussing plans for how to handle the new TV season, which starts somewhat on Sept. 1, with the return of "Gossip Girl," "One Tree Hill" and "Prison Break," as well as TNT's premiere of "Raising the Bar." (More things will be scattered over the ensuing weeks, with the big surge of new programming beginning Sept. 21.) But as we talked, it was difficult to think about what the new season will look like. ...

TV continues its attempt to look more like TV Land; besides previously announced retoolings of "90210" (see above), "The Prisoner" and "Streets of San Francisco," and Americanizing of imports like "Kath and Kim" and "Life on Mars," there's news that "Hawaii Five-O" will get an updating. I'm withholding judgment until I see young McGarrett's hair.

The great songwriter and singer has died. I've long loved his epic, 18-minutes-counting-monologue version of "By the Time I Get to Phoenix." About a year ago, I posted a long piece about Hayes as one of my favorite singers. I'm reposting the text after the jump. That doesn't deal with some aspects of his career -- the years of songwriting for Stax, the later "South Park" fame (and controversy) -- but it does deal with why I'm crushed by his passing.

Been a long day, and I expect to head sleepward soon. But I've seen almost two hours of Olympics opening-ceremonies coverage, all in HD, and it has been quite impressive. Loved the creation of images with large casts of people, and the synchronized drumming. In the early going at least, there was also a reasonable acknowledgement of political currents in China and the games.

It has been more than eight years since "Sports Night" ended its network run, almost six years since a bare-bones "complete series" DVD set was released. With the 10th anniversary of the show's premiere coming in September, Shout! Factory has an excuse for a new DVD set that promises an abundance of extras along with the 45 "Sports Night" episodes. The full release is after the jump.

The ubiquitous Ryan Seacrest will now have his name in ABC's annual New Year's special, retitled "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest." Dick Clark continues as co-host, says ABC, but his name in the title "reflects the success of the co-hosting responsibilities of one of America’s most time-honored traditions."

SCI FI Channel today announced an all-new Battlestar Galactica special event, set to air in 2009 following the conclusion of the series and then released on DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment shortly thereafter. Directed by series star Edward James Olmos and written by Battlestar Galactica’s Jane Espenson, the two-hour event will begin shooting in Vancouver at the end of this summer. The cast includes Michael Trucco, Aaron Douglas and Dean Stockwell, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.

With the Disney Channel drawing plenty of girls (the Hannah Montana/HSM effect), Disney is going to turn Toon Disney into "Disney XD," which it calls "a compelling mix of live-action and animated programming for kids age 6-14, hyper-targeting boys." Changes tarts in February '09. Full release after the jump.

A little before 7:30 this morning I flipped to the US-Norway women's soccer game, kicking off my Olympics viewing. (There will be more.) I had to leave the room for a few minutes, and came back to find Norway leading 2-0. Considering the glacial pace of scoring in a lot of soccer I've watched, it was astonishing. And when the game ended a couple of hours later, one NBC announcer called it a "shocker." Another said it was a "very disappointing" start for the US women's team. Brandi Chastain said she was almost speechless. So even before the opening ceremonies, we have a surprise. And isn't that part of the excitement of the Olympics? Not sure it's enough to have me watching the US men at 5 a.m. tomorrow, though.

"P.O.V." tonight (check your local listings) unearths this 1969 documentary about Cash. It's deceptively offhanded, following Cash on the road, visiting old haunts, in the studio (including for a duet with Bob Dylan, then in his "Nashville Skyline" phase, on "One Too Many Mornings"), picking up an award for "Folsom Prison," listening to other musicians and telling stories. ...

James Franco and Seth Rogen from "Pineapple Express" were on Dan Patrick's show this morning, and Franco referred to "PE" as "the most expensive weed movie ever made." Maybe so, but the arrival of "PE" -- which I have not seen yet -- has had me pondering both the best pot movie ever made and, tangentially, the best pot-smoking scene in a movie. ...

Christopher Knight has been signed as host of the new TV version of "Trivial Pursuit" premiering Sept. 22. His official bio is so odd-sounding, I had to pass it along. After the jump. (By the way, while the bio details his forays into reality TV, the press release announcing his hosting mentioned only his "Brady Bunch" connection.)

As you may know, I do regular question-and-answer features for the Beacon Journal, including a daily question and a multi-question mailbag on Thursdays. The mailbag also goes out to other papers, so my mail comes from around the country.

I received one letter recently that, upon close examination, I decided not to use in the mailbag. It started, harmlessly enough, asking for the dates of birth of several actresses and how to write them. Those are relatively easy questions to answer (although trying to pin down accurate birthdays can be a challenge in some cases), but the letter writer said "everyone I ask says that they can't find the answers."

Let the madness start leading us to Dec. 4, when people will be lined up for "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," a spin-off of sorts from the Potter tales. Here's how the publisher explains it:

"Containing clues that were to prove crucial to Harry Potter’s final mission to destroy Lord Voldemort’s Horcruxes, The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the volume of five wizarding fairy tales left to Hermione Granger by Albus Dumbledore in the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Only one – The Tale of the Three Brothers – is recounted in the book. In The Tales of Beedle the Bard, the four remaining stories are revealed for the very first time."Only seven copies of the book were at first made, and one sold for charity. Proceeds from the new book will go to a Rowling-backed charity as well.